Business outlook brightens

Photo: Contributed - www.investvernon.ca

Vernon's economy is moving in the right direction with 145 local companies reporting steady or improving business in the city.

In early October, the City of Vernon -- in conjunction with Community Futures North Okanagan, the Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Vernon Association -- went door to door for two hours gathering data from more than 145 companies on the current state of business in the city.

“This is the second year we have undertaken the Business Walks program,” says Kevin Poole, Manager of Economic Development & Tourism for the city. “The program provides us with a great snapshot of the current economic conditions, while providing businesses with an opportunity to provide feedback to the City of Vernon and other business service providers.”

Poole says there has been a promising shift in results this year with 96.3 per cent of businesses reporting that their business was either steady or growing.

“This is up significantly over last year and is a sign that business in Vernon is picking up,” adds Poole.

Other notable findings include:

• Most of the businesses surveyed were small businesses, with just under 80 per cent employing 10 people or fewer.
• The factors that most positively influenced business in Vernon include good location and clientele, the size of the community, demographic structures, traffic volumes and proximity to tourist attractions.
• Respondents said the biggest challenge they faced was parking (53.7 per cent), lack of customers or finding employees.
• The city can help support local businesses by focusing on parking issues (supply, cost and enforcement); revitalizing downtown; greater emphasis on promotions, marketing and events; attracting more businesses, services and young families to Vernon; improvements to traffic and transportation; tax incentives for businesses; and improving city processes and services.
• Business owners and managers said the labour support programs and assistance with succession planning would be valuable resources for the business community. They also requested other information such as better access to local statistics data, City of Vernon plans, and information on marketing opportunities and campaigns.

“We are very fortunate in Vernon to have such great partners as we couldn’t undertake this program without the support that we’ve received from Community Futures North Okanagan, the Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Vernon Association,” says Poole.

For more information, check out www.investvernon.ca.